Word of the day: Chalao, chalao (hurry, hurry)
Buy of the day: Mom's bracelet
Experience of the Day: 1)Good: seeing RA One
2)Bad: Elephant ride
Weather: hot and humid (again)
New city, new guide. This morning, it's Hemanchu, an older man with a pleasant dispostion. We headed right to the Amber Fortress to get in line for the elephant ride. The elephants can only make 6 trips each per day so it's a first come, first served situation. There was a fairly long queue when we arrived just before 9am. We were immediately surounded by hawkers and...

Phrase of the day: zindagi aisi he hay (this is the life)
Buy of the day : our custom made outfits
Experience of the day: invitation to an Indian wedding
Weather: hot, humid, hazy-- same old same old.
Early morning check out of the hotel to meet Deviya at 830 am for our tour of Fatehpur Sikri-- a huge abandoned city built by good old Akbar. Deviya had caught some kind of bug and was hacking and coughing in the car for the 30 min. drive to Fatehpur Sikri. elise & I tried not to breathe; we sure didn't want to catch it! I'm sure she felt...

From Rathambore we got back on the ‘traditional’ golden triangle circuit (Delhi-Agra-Jaipur) and on to Jaipur (the pink city). Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan and a really enjoyable city to visit; vibrant and full of great sights.
The old city lends Jaipur its nickname with its pink buildings within the old city walls. Whiling away a day wandering round, the old city had a great atmosphere - streets lined with bustling bazaars and Diwali decorations starting to go up adding a bit of bling to the streets. It also hosts the city palace...

Hi All,
In the Pink City, going exploring tomorrow viewing the Fort and Palace then heading off on a night train to Udaipur at 10:30pm arriving at 6:10am wish us luck. The ket is to book ahead 2 nights accommodation then arrive without touts fussing over us. Phew all sorted. Now buying some Alibaba'a before bed....night all XX

We arrived in Delhi with no problems, however made a swift departure the next day to Agra. Let's say the touts were extremely persistent and its not the pleasantest of places to chill having had no sleep the night before. Making two attempts to find the 'Tourist Office' to buy our 'get out tickets' ha we laughed along with our ticket issuer having worked on the railway for 10 years he himself couldn't find the place for over an hour ha ha.
The train journey was a 3rd class A/C much needed in sweltering and humid 31 degree heat. We were...

We were up early tempted by the prospect of an elephant ride up to Amber Fort. Surprisingly, even though we got there at 8.30, there was a very long queue. The elephant ride was rocking and swaying and a couple of times Cammie thought he would slip under the security bar! Most of the elephants were prettily decorated.
Up in the palace which we visited there were 5 levels of accommodation each one getting cooler and airier than the previuos one. My favourite place was the Sheesh Mahal which was beautiful. I doubt the photos we took would do...

Long drive from Ranthambore to Jaipur. Saw lots of manic driving and overtaking and camels on the way. Got to a lovely hotel Jas Vilas here in Jaipur. In the afternoon enjoyed a trip to the Jantar Mantar where we were bombarded with science and knowledge about astronomy and the zodiacs. Our guide also told us about the horoscopes done at the time of weddings - all very interesting.
We also went for a walk around the bazaars of Jaipur - they were very busy and full of happenings! Cammie attracted lots of attention in his Man Utd Rafael...

What can I say about Jaipur.. Out of all the towns I visited in India, I enjoyed Jaipur the least. From my stepping of the train, I didn't like the feel of the place and over the next three (very long) days I saw sights and experiences sights that I have never experienced on a holiday before. A quick brief on Jaipur. Founded in the 18th century, Jaipur is the capital city of the state of Rajasthan and was once the centre of Royal power in India once the seat of power was moved from Amber. This royal connection forms the now popular tourist...

It is a nice enough place but dear God the touts, tourist prices, and constant hounding has really set my teeth on edge. Even when people are just saying hello to be nice or just aksing questions out of curiosity I feel like biting their heads off. No, I haven't assaulted anyone (yet).
I did get my camera fixed. I found an official Canon repair shop right here in town and they repaired my camera for 1500 rupees. I think they over-charged me but the only other place in town that could do it wanted 2000 rupees, and they wanted my camera for 2...

I skipped Gwalior or rather I went to Gwalior and then left. I took two buses to get there, the second of which I had to stand up holding onto the rails attached to the roof along with about 10-25 other people at various points. I did this for 2.5 hours almost. It was a hard jostling ride, over dirt and broken concrete roads, but I made it safely in the afternoon. I tried about a dozen hotels before giving up. I often sent my auto driver in too check for availability and they would tell him they had rooms. When I went in after, all of a...